Sunday, 30 April 2017

Queen Charlotte’s Zebra was the first zebra to be seen in
England in 1762 … and as you’d expect was hugely popular … George Stubbs
painted her …

Zebra by George Stubbs 1763

… and immediately grasped the differences between zebras and
horses …

... so much so it is recorded with zoological verisimilitude that it can be identified today as the smallest of the three subspecies of zebra: the Cape Mountain.

Cape Mountain Goat in the Cape, South Africa

She lived on in England for 11 years … first at Buckingham House
(now Palace) and then at The Tower of London, where she shared her
accommodation with an elephant.

The connection here is that William Hunter (Scottish Anatomist), elder brother of John
Hunter, (the Surgeon), was Accoucheur to the Queen, George III's wife. Both were interested in anatomy of one sort
or the other … both opened Museums to hold their collections.

The Enlightenment Room
of the British Museum - restored to
show the conception of a museum

Christopher Plumb – whose thesis on Exotic Animals in the 18th
century – has been taken up and turned into a book … he has noted the bawdy
songs that sprang up from visits to ‘the Queen’s Ass’ …

Apparently his studies are called ‘Museology’ … or Museum
Studies … the study of museums, museum
curations, and how museums developed into their institutional role in education
through social and political forces.

Donkey with Sheep in the snow

So as we leave another A-Z year behind … I bid you farewell
from a country with Zetland in it … the West Country Shires of Devon, Dorset
and Somerset … where ‘S’ is still pronounced as a ‘Z’ …

Zedland or Zetland are the old slang names for the west counties of Dorset, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall ...

Widecombe Moor - part of
Zedland,

That is Z for Zebra, Zoo and Zedland … from Aspects of British
County Rare Breeds …

Counties with
the letter Z …

(note some Counties have been retired!, or amended
over historical local government … but some I’ve included)

Saturday, 29 April 2017

Artists, scribes, stone workers, glaziers and builders have
all depicted animals representative of their times … some mythical, some real …
the bestiaries are compendiums (compendia) of beasts …

Winged Lion in stained glass

From these early ‘art forms’ we can see how animals have
evolved over the centuries … and understand as our knowledge increased …

Groom with Horse and Hounds -
Peter Tillemans (1734)

... the
realisation by man in the Middle Ages as to how animals could be specially bred
for different purposes.

Cattle Watering by
William Huggins (1871)

These breeding patterns were then recorded … and as artists
moved from portraiture, to landscapes … and ultimately on to recording animals -
domestic, farmed and wild – we can see and note the changes …

Girl with Pigs by
Thomas Gainsborough
(1781/82)

… then how each breed evolved … and how essential all the
aspects of their breeding programmes are … to maintain the strength of each
breed … or to match the desired type of animal …

Donkeys by Harrison Weir (1824 - 1906)

That is Y for Y Artists of all disciplines recording the
changes in form of all the animals they portrayed … from Aspects of British
County Rare Breeds …

Counties
with the letter Y …

(note
some Counties have been retired!, or amended over historical local government …
but some I’ve included)

Friday, 28 April 2017

Both Wars in the 20th C decimated the nation’s
stock of animals … which were used in all sorts of ways … transport,
communications, logistics, vermin control and solace … then those found left on
the land were often sacrificed for food …

English landscape: Cows on way to Milking

…the wide variety of
breeds that were on our landscape in the 19th century were severely
curtailed … as often only the weak were left in Britain.

Female glowworm - were
captured and used as lighting
in the trenches etc

Other fauna were pigeons, dogs, cats, camels and the unlikely
glow-worm (emitted light acting as natural lanterns) … all had important War roles …
these perhaps don’t fall into the Rare Breed category … but were so essential
in many other ways.

The American Livestock Conservancy

The Rare Breed Survival Trust is redeeming our genetic bank of
the wonderful variety of animals that have existed in Britain since the Ice Age
split the country from Europe.

Animals in War Memorial Dispensary
- Bronze Friezes

Our Rare Breeds hold the key to our future … as we do not know
which type of animal will be required to feed us, clothe us, transport us, comfort
us, or communicate for us in the future …

A pack horse at the London War Memorial
for animals

War depleted our reserves … remember the Golden Guernsey Goat
(under F – just to keep you on your toes!) … they would have become extinct
being used for rations during WWII … if they had not been hidden in the caves.

Art work depicting the Native
Indians Seven Generations Rule

So the Rare Breeds Survival Trust has another feather in its
cap … it is thinking forward – those 7 generations of stewardship … which forms
part of the Iroquois mandate …

… to make sure that every decision we take relates to the
welfare and well-being of the seventh generation to come … what are we leaving
them, it is necessary to think and not take …

That is X for X facts from War or Disease reminding us of our children’s future on
this planet and our need to care for all things … from Aspects of British County Rare Breeds …

Counties
with the letter X …

(note
some Counties have been retired!, or amended over historical local government …
but some I’ve included)

Iriquois Constitution ... see here ... I will add a note in to my Reflections post re why we need to maintain as many varieties of animals, plants etc as we are able to ... and also give a note on why some animals have maintained particular 'articles' of their anatomy ... so please read my Reflections post up 'early' next week!

Thursday, 27 April 2017

Whistlejacket as painted by the British artist George Stubbs
showing the Marquess of Rockingham’s racehorse approximately at life-size,
rearing up against a plain background.

Canvas is
9 1/2 feet x 8 feet
"Whistlejacket" by George Stubbs

The art work has been described as “a paradigm of the flawless
beautify of an Arabian thoroughbred” … it can now be seen in the National
Gallery.

Whistlejacket in another context is a “Mahogany” – and in
Yorkshire it is considered a traditional cold remedy … a rather daunting mix ….

Opihr Gin

… a curious liquor peculiar to the Cornish Fishermen in the
late 1700s … it is made with two parts gin, and one part treacle, well beaten
together … and was made into a ‘very good liquor’.

The pirates of Cornwall … note that in a biography of Ashley
Hutchings, the founder of the folk-rock bands Fairport Convention and
SteeleyeSpan, the members mentioned this drink … they remembered “Mahogany” but
very little else about the night!!

That is W for What Should be a Well Forgotten recipe for a Walloping cold, but is W for a Wondrous Work of Whistlejacket, the Arabian thoroughbred … from Aspects of British County Rare
Breeds …

Counties with the letter W …

(note some Counties have
been retired!, or amended over historical local government … but some I’ve
included)

Wednesday, 26 April 2017

Vaynol Cattle are one of the UK’s rarest breeds with fewer
than 150 breeding animals registered in the UK.

Temple Newsam 1880

The cattle had been at Vaynol Park near Bangor, Wales since
1872 … they are a semi-feral breed and were maintained under minimal management
supervision … this prompted the RBST to step in and move the herd to Temple
Newsam.

Well we can see it's approved ...

In 2006, the Rare Breeds Survival Trust set up a five year
conservation programme at Temple Newsam farm, run by Leeds Council in order to
establish a genetic profile of the breed … aiming to reduce the levels of
inbreeding …

Five calves

In 2007, the first calf was born by artificial insemination
from semen collected from a bull 30 years ago.

Two new satellite herds have been established in Lincolnshire
and in Scotland …

Vaynol Cow

There has been some intervention … but the herds are left to
their own devices to retain the wildness and distrust of humans as per their
ancestors.

Temple Newsam from the air - the
farm is bottom right

Temple Newsam is a magnificent country mansion set within
1,500 acres of beautiful parkland, complete with a rare breed farm … a place to
visit and explore …

Temple Newsam Park - Ideal for the Rare Breeds

That is V for a Variety of Very Rare Vaynol cattle … Verdantly
Vegetating on Thane land outside Leeds … from Aspects of British County Rare
Breeds …

Counties
with the letter V …

(note
some Counties have been retired!, or amended over historical local government …
but some I’ve included)

Monday, 24 April 2017

T for This Time … you get the history – the T for Turkeys in
the UK and USA are much the same … so not a lot of British information
available for me to post up …

Slate Turkey

Turkeys have been around for millennia (originating in Mexico/ Americas) … but were brought to
Britain in the 1520s (via Spain) by Yorkshireman William Strickland, a navigator, who sailed on
early voyages of exploration to the Americas …

The Lectern in St Andrew's Church
showing the turkey carving and
Coat of Arms below

… on his return to
Bristol he sold the birds and is credited with their introduction into Britain … being granted a Coat of Arms … the bird
motif is incorporated into it.

While in St Andrew’s Church, Boynton, East Yorkshire the
lectern has been beautifully carved in the shape of a turkey …The Poultry Club of Great Britain - link below - we have the nominate race here - the bronze with white in its tail ... was the breed introduced to us ...

A Norfolk Bronze

The birds had been identified as a type of guineafowl … and in
those early days were called “turkey fowl” before being shortened to just “turkey”…

... this was because there were 'Turkey Merchants' bringing in a range of goods from the Middle East to be traded ... thus 'turkey' was appropriated for the bird ...

Henry VIII was the first English king to enjoy turkey,
although Edward VII made eating turkey fashionable at Christmas … it replaced
peacocks on the table in Royal Courts.

Bourbon Red Turkey

By 1720 … turkeys were walking from Norfolk to the London
markets in small flocks of 300 – 1,000.
They started in August and fed on stubble fields and feeding stations
along the drove … as with geese their feet were dipped in tar …

Narragansett Turkey Hens

There are 43 breeds of turkey in the UK … but many of them are
very similar to their American cousins … so the best place to look is the RBST
site for Turkeys under the Poultry section …

That is T for Turkey Treats and Treasures of the Thanksgiving Table and
the Christmas Table … from Aspects of British County Rare Breeds …

Counties
with the letter T…

(note
some Counties have been retired!, or amended over historical local government …
but some I’ve included)

They come from one small area of Wales – the Tywi valley ..
and were particularly badly hit in the severe British winter of 1946/7. With some outcrossing with other types of
Welsh Mountain sheep their numbers are increasing …

Manx Loaghtan on Jersey

Manx
Loaghtan – an Isle of Mann breed … which appears at rare breed farms
on the mainland, and has been introduced into Jersey – as it is believed to be
the closest surviving relative of the now extinct Jersey Sheep.

Red-billed Chough

Interestingly it appears there is a link between the Manx
Loaghtan breed and the ability of the Choughto thrive on its coastland sites …

Devon and Cornwall Longwool

Devon and
Cornwall Longwool - the breed is relatively local and there are few
flocks outside of the South West.

Dorset Horn

Dorset
Horn
- the sheep of Dorset were known for their unusual ability to breed out of
season as far back as the 17th century.

The breed’s prolificacy and capacity for lambing all year round, makes it easier to breed flock replacements and build a closed flock …

Wensleydale

Wensleydale– it has
a grey blue face … with long “Rastafarian” ringlet-like locks of wool … this is
acknowledged as the finest lustre long wool in the world …

Wensleydale showing its long fleece

The fleece from a purebred sheep is considered 'kemp' free and curled or purled on out to
the end.

Kemp is
generally chalky-white, brittle, weak fibres – which are often detached from
the skin … and thus are not desirable at all in a fleece.

Sheep are useful in many ways … for food as lambs, or hoggets
(one to two year olds), milk for yoghurt
or cheese, their wool for clothes, rugs etc …

Herdwick Sheep in the Lake District form a vital part of that landscape ... "Herdwyk" means sheep pasture - while the term "hefting" means the lambs learn from their mothers where to graze ... which removes the need for fencing.

Herdwicks grazing on the Cumbrian
Fells

Beatrix Potter bequeathed 4,000 acres so that Herdwicks could continue to roam and graze the Fells.

They are raised in relatively natural surroundings … without the need to feed them high-concentration grain feed as with other animals.

Sheep therefore offer different husbandry methods … and as is
noted … any animal is not a cog in the machine of profitability – it is a
living creature that demands our understanding and should receive our
understanding and sympathy … being bred to further the type of genetic needs –
which benefit us all …

With a proverbial 'black sheep' in their
midst - this is in Spain

That is S for Sheep in early Spring with lambs going towards Summer … Some Sheep are in Severe Survival
circumstances … but the Survival Trust will do their best to ensure all breeds
Survive to provide us with Sufficient Stock to Secure these native breeds …
that is S for Sheep from Aspects of British County Breeds …

Counties with the letter S ...

(note some counties have been retired!, or amended over historical local government ... but some I've included)

England: Shropshire, Somerset, Staffordshire, Suffolk, Surrey, Sussex

Northern Ireland: None

Scotland: Selkirkshire, Shetland, Stirlingshire, Sutherland

Wales: South Glamorgan

However - to make sure I comply and answer questions (which I'll do more of once the A-Z is over) - and be the proper blogger I be ... Jacob's Sheep raised their head ... the Jacob is not a Rare Breed in this context ...

A Jacob Ram

They originated in the Middle
East and are believed to be the oldest breed in the world – being mentioned in
the Old Testament Book of Genesis.

The Moors took them to the Iberian Peninsula in the 8thC
AD; eventually they were imported here in Elizabethan times as an ornament for
country house parks!

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About Me

A lover of life – who after London, spent time in South Africa; an administrator, sports lover, who enjoys cooking and entertaining ... who through her mother’s illness found a new passion – writing, in particular blogging; which provides an opportunity for future exploration, by the daughter, who has (in her 3rd age years) found a love of historical education. Curiosity didn’t kill this cat – interaction is the key! Now moved to Vancouver Island, Canada for 'a while' - not forever ...